Another Picture of the Week

Wed. 27 July:  Mountain Graffiti

I'm already seeing faces on the rocks, and now I seem to see some smudged writing on the mountain wall.  Can anyone read mountain graffiti?  This is the cirque just to the north of C Level Cirque on Cascade Mountain in Banff National Park.

Picture of the Week

Thurs. 28 July:  Sweet Nothings

I wonder what these two are whispering to each other?  They were happily playing on the pathway which crosses over Quartz Hill, the high point between Sunshine Meadows and Citadel Pass, in Banff Park.  They hardly noticed me as I passed quietly by.

Banff - again!

Wed./Thurs. 27/28 July:  Banff – again!

Two classic Banff National Park hikes in two days.  By going mid-week, I avoided the worst of the crowds, although I was far from alone on these popular trails.

Wed. 27 July:  A-Plus at C-Level

The C-Level Cirque trail is hike #1 in the Canadian Rockies Trail Guide, and one of the busiest in the Parks.  There’s a good reason.  The wide gravel trail leads up to an interesting old mining area, before narrowing to a forest trail.  From there it climbs up the east side of spectacular Cascade Mountain.  The trail finally ends at the vertical mountain wall, over 2000 feet up from the trailhead, for those few people who persevere to the very highest point.

About a hundred years ago, this was a busy coal mine, providing coal for the Canadian Pacific Railway.  It shut down in the 1920’s.   Now, of course, it has reverted to nature, although there is a shell of a building along the trail, and fenced off open shafts, used as air vents for the mine.  By stepping off the trail at this point, you are treated to a superb view down to Lake Minnewanka and its surrounding mountains, from the top of a huge tailings pile from the mine. 

By continuing up the trail, through the trees, I reached the bottom of the cirque, with the mountainsides soaring up into the clouds.  This is called C-Level Cirque as it was the highest of the levels of the mining operation.  Not a very romantic name, but a reminder of the time when this mountain was busy with miners working a dangerous job to make a living.

Here at the cirque, many people end their climb.  But there is a path which continues up the side of the cirque to a better viewpoint higher up.  I had passed three young couples along the trail, and at the top end of the cirque I met a young lady with a French accent who told me you could continue even higher to a better viewpoint.  I took her advice and carried on up a very steep narrow trail, to a ridge high above the end of the official trail.  

Finally I reached the tree-line, and directly ahead of me was the bare mountain wall, rising to the hidden summit of Cascade Mountain (9,836 ft.), somewhere up in the clouds.  The view was great, down to Lake Minnewanka, east along the Bow Valley, and west up the lonely forested Cascade Valley.  I sat at the foot of the cliff, enjoying this view, before putting on my MICROspikes for the steep, slippery descent back to the cirque.  There had been a light shower earlier in the afternoon, so the rocks were slippery and wet. I passed through an area of large rocks, which had fallen down off the mountain, and they were covered with very clear fossilized remains of ferns.

Quite a few more assorted tourists were plodding up the trail as I returned to the car park.  Many of them would get as far as the mine area, with perhaps just a very small number persevering up to my high perch below the mountain wall.  So even on a busy summer day, I was able to have Cascade Mountain to myself. For the extra effort on C-Level, I gave myself an A-plus!

Later that afternoon I set up camp at Tunnel Mountain and enjoyed a stroll around a busy Banff townsite.  For the first time I drove around the golf course loop, on a lonely road below the cliffs of Mt. Rundle.  A big golf tournament had ended the previous day, and the stands were being dismantled.  Just below the Bow Falls, the Spray River was thundering into the Bow River at full spate.  Apparently there is a problem with a dam in the Spray Valley, causing the river to overflow and wash out a bridge in popular Goat Creek.

Statistics
C-Level Cirque
Wed. 27 July
Total Dist.	10.4 km (hike)
Height Gain	2,400 ft.
Max. Elev.	7,200 ft.
Time	3 hrs. 39 mins.

Other Stats.
Start hike:     10.51 am High point:    12.53 pm Ret. to car:      2.30 pm	Cloudy with a light shower early on.  Some sunny breaks.

Thurs. 28 July:  Quartz Hill

From one angle, Quartz Hill is well named, a gentle ridge separated by two graceful peaks.  From the top, however, this is no hill – it’s a jagged mountain, sitting on the Continental Divide at over 8,400 feet.

Overnight it had cleared, and today proved to be a perfect day for my next adventure, which started at the access road to Sunshine Village ski hill.

The day started with a ride up the steep road in a large yellow school bus.  The only other passenger was an Aussie from Vancouver, who was planning a similar route to my own.  His name was Mark, and we discovered we had been in Perth (Australia) at the same time back in the mid-90’s.  He told me he was in the mining business and did a lot of hiking on the West Coast of BC.  

Being the first bus of the day, we had the ski village to ourselves.  It is an untidy collection of buildings and ski lift equipment.  Ski resorts never look particularly attractive in summer, and this was  no exception.  There were still some snow patches here and there, after the record snowfalls of the previous winter.  There was a lot of activity around the village, with operators checking out the ski lifts and builders renovating the hotel.

My destination today was Quartz Hill, on the long trail to Mt. Assiniboine.  This trail climbs out of the ski village bowl, up onto wide open alpine meadows, ringed by mountain peaks.  This is the Continental Divide, and along the way you cross over into British Columbia and then back into Alberta. 

On a cold, wet day, this would be a miserable journey.  Today, under a warm sun, it was paradise.  The trail is very narrow, and you are urged to stay on it, to avoid trampling on the sea of wildflowers.  You are immediately drawn to the Quartz Hill twin peaks ahead of you on the horizon.  For some reason, several of the guide books dismiss these peaks as a destination, but they make the perfect half-day outing, with some spectacular scenery.

The trail does climb to the east ridge of Quartz Hill, where there are fine views towards Mt. Assiniboine, which today was hidden in the cloud.  The trail then drops down to Howard Douglas Lake and on to Citadel Pass, on the way to Assiniboine.

I turned right at this high point, and headed directly for Quartz Hill.  This reminded me of some of the hills of northern Scotland, bare and open, with two peaks joined by a flat ridge.  There were still large snow patches on its flanks, but there was no difficulty in reaching the ridge.  I first turned left to climb the higher of the peaks, at 8,419 feet.  It took a careful scramble to a grand double summit. 

I was stunned by the sudden exposure, with precipitous cliffs dropping away to a valley (Simpson River) far below, and the river snaking away towards the next range of mountains.  Quartz Hill sits on the Continental Divide, and so has extensive 360 degree views of Banff National Park and beyond. 

Very carefully dropping back to the ridge, I then strolled up to the other peak.  In the middle, on the ridge top, was a small body of water, reflecting the clouds.  I sheltered out of the wind to enjoy the views back across the open meadows to the Sunshine ski hills, a patchwork of green as the sun played tag with the clouds.  

Back on the ridge I noticed a bighorn sheep grazing, and then took a perfect photo as it ambled past along the skyline.

I returned to the trail below, and followed the same route back to the start.  Along the way, there were a number of hikers making their way southwards, some carrying heavy packs, bound for Assiniboine. 

The bus was not due for an hour or so, so I relaxed on the sun deck of the resort, watching the steady flow of people heading up the trail.  It was a full bus which made its way very slowly back down the steep, twisting road to the valley floor.  I was first off the bus, and only an hour and three quarters later, I was sitting in the arrivals lounge of Calgary International airport, waiting for L’s plane to arrive from Toronto – quite a culture shock after another incredible day in the Canadian Rockies.

Statistics
Quartz Hill
Thurs. 28 July
Total Dist.	12.2 km (hike)
Height Gain	1,340 ft.
Max. Elev.	8,419 ft.
Time	4 hrs. 30 mins.

Other Stats.
Start hike:       8.21 am S. Summit:    10.22 am N. Summit:   10.58 am Ret. to start:  12.51 pm	Long sunny spells, clouds building during day.  Light breeze.

Picture of the Week

Sat. 23 July:  An Eye on the Weather

It's always good to keep an eye on the weather, especially when up around 9,000 feet above sea level in the Canadian Rockies.  Here on Highwood Ridge, a snowy squall is descending on us from the north, despite the forecast calling for sunny skies.

Highwood Ridge

Sat. 23 July:  Highwood Ridge

Wooly hats and warm gloves in late July – that’s a small price to pay for climbing to within a stone’s throw of 9,000 feet above sea level.   At 8,850 feet, I beat the maximum elevations achieved in the banner hiking years of 2009 and 2010.  And it was so easy.

You might say that we cheated a bit, as this hike starts at the top of Canada’s highest paved road, the Highwood Pass, at just over 7,200 ft.  Our plan was to climb from the Pass up onto the northern peak of Highwood Ridge, walk in a southerly direction along the ridge, then dropping down to the road further south.  This needed two cars, so today my hiking colleague J and I teamed up in Calgary and set off westwards in convoy.  There was a lot of cloud piled high above the mountains, suggesting that the forecast for a sunny day might be a little optimistic.  We did have sunshine up on the ridge – along with a cold wind, threatening clouds, and an occasional snow flurry.  Above 8,000 feet, the weather seems often to have a life of its own.

We reached the top of the Pass, then drove a few kilometers down the other side of the Pass to drop off my car.  Returning to the top, we parked J’s car in an almost empty parking area.  This would fill up later, as it’s a popular destination, with some very nice interpretive trails.  

The route through the trees up onto the north end of the ridge is just a little confusing, but as long as you keep heading upwards, you can’t go wrong.  You have to scramble up over some crags, before reaching the tree-line, where the forest gives way to some nice grassy slopes.  From there we followed the steep ridgeline up to the summit, enjoying the easy scrambling and the immediately spectacular views down the Pass.  There was very little snow left, and none on our route.  Those drifts which remained were, with one exception, on the eastern slopes and might easily not melt before next winter adds more snow.  There was just one large drift just below the final summit scramble, easily bypassed.  

The northern summit of the ridge, at 8,850 ft., was small, with steep cliffs on the north.  A thin jagged ridgeline runs west towards Grizzly Peak and Mt. Tyrwhitt (9,429 ft.) beyond.  Back in 1985 I had followed that arduous route.  Looking southwards we could see our own wide, grassy ridgeline running for about three kilometres to the southern summit.  To the right (west) was a classic smooth grassy glaciated valley, bright green in the sun.  To our left, far below, we could look down onto the road leading down from the Pass.  Directly to the east were some incredible hidden valleys and snow-capped mountains – Mt. Rae (10,558 ft.), Storm Mountain (10,155 ft.) and Mist Mountain (10,302 ft.).  Quite a viewpoint.

The clouds were building to the north, and it was cold enough for hats and gloves, so we strode briskly south along the ridge, trying to stay as close to the precipitous eastern cliff-line as we could – mostly, of course, to show off to the drivers on the road far below.  This was an exciting walk, with no dangers, yet a continuously spectacular 360 degree bird’s eye view of the eastern Rockies.  The ridge narrows down at one point, and it is mostly downhill from north to south.  Finally up on the southern summit, we looked back along our route which now resembled a steep mountainside!  

It was on this southern summit that the well-known explorer George Pocaterra had a famous picture taken, which I haven’t yet been able to find.  Instead I asked J to take an imposing photo of me looking down the Pass, hoping this may become just as famous a family picture for future generations!

We dropped off the ridge down the steep south end, which was easy enough, but constantly steep as it headed into the forest and continued down until we hit a pathway.  Turning left, we contoured round to the southeast side of the mountain, to a deep, dry creek, which led easily enough back to the road, and exactly to the place we had parked my car.  I had thought that somewhere between the ridge and the road, we would have to cross a young Highwood River (or Storm Creek).  Luckily the creek ran on the other side of the road, so we simply walked through the woods and out onto the road, perhaps five or six kilometers below the Pass.  This final descent off the ridge would not make a good ascent at all, so if you are thinking of doing our route in reverse, forget it!  

We had been lucky with the weather, and the earlier threats of snow showers had given way to a mostly sunny summer afternoon.  There had been no other hikers on our trail today, although the car park at the top of the Pass was now full.  It was a leisurely drive down the Highwood Valley and back to Calgary through bright green ranching country under dark blue summer skies.

Statistics
Highwood Ridge
Sat. 23 July
Total Dist.	8 km (hike)
Height Gain	2,100 ft.
Max. Elev.	8,850 ft.
Time	5 hrs. 30 mins.

Other Stats.
Start hike:       7.56 am N summit:       9.57 am S summit:     11.42 am Car:                1.26 pm Ret. to start:   1.37 pm	Temp:+8 to +16 deg.C (colder up on ridge) Mix of sun and cloud, cold west wind, some snow flurries.

Picture of the Week

Fri. 15 July:  On Track

These little orange diamonds nailed to trees indicate that you are on an official trail.  When you have been wandering across remote mountain landscapes, hoping you are on track, these are very welcome signs.  This particular marker can be found at the junction of Indian Oils and Bluerock Trails, on the flanks of Bluerock Ridge in the Sheep River country. 

Second Time Lucky

Fri. 15 July:  Indian Oils-Bluerock Circuit

 

Second time lucky!  It was in September last year that I set out on this same route but was turned back by a mother bear and her cubs.  But this circuit is too good to miss, so today I had another go.  It was a fascinating and slightly strenuous trip, with one or two minor route-finding challenges along the way – and no bears this time!

My plan was to make a 21.5 kilometre anti-clockwise circuit of the foothills north of the Sheep River.  By combining the Indian Oils and Bluerock trails, one can climb to a high point over 7,000 ft., on the steep sides of Bluerock Ridge, before dropping back down to the Sheep Valley.  Most of this is on well-used trails, but there is a section in the middle which looked a little uncertain on the map.

The journey started with a short bike ride down the Sheep River road from the Bluerock equestrian area to the start of the hiking trail opposite Sheep Falls.  I hid the bike in the trees and set off up the trail.  On the first trail sign, my scratched “BEAR” warning was still plain to see. 

This first hiking leg of the trip, up Indian Oils Trail, was surprisingly steep as I climbed in a northerly direction to a high point between the Sheep and South Gorge Creek valleys.  The reward for this roughly 900 vertical feet of climbing was a stunning view west to the rugged Front Ranges, across a sea of forested foothills.  Junction Creek, the Highwood Range, and the Dogtooth Mountains were prominent across the Sheep Valley to the south, with my planned route laid out for me to the north and west.  At this high point was a bench and horse-rail, where horseback riders would take a break and admire the view.  

From this high point, the trail drops a little then reaches another col before dropping down into the trees.  An unsigned junction marks the point where I turned westwards, and in a few hundred yards I reached the junction with South Gorge Creek trail, coming up the valley from the East.  This next long section of trail, over six kilometers, heads for the eastern flanks of the long ridgeline of Bluerock Ridge.  To get there the trail drops steeply into a valley, then bypasses a couple of rounded, forested hills to my right.  

It was at the second of these hills that I left the main trail behind and continued westwards on a lesser used route.  I negotiated a boggy meadow, crossed a creek, then made some guesses about the right course, which were proven right when the trail reappeared.  Back into the woods, I followed a random course of braided trails.  The good thing about a braided trail is that, whichever route you take, they all meet up again, although some of the routes were better designed for animals or tiny people less than three feet tall.  

These trails brought me to the edge of a wide meadow, with wonderful views of Mt. Ware to the right, and the long line of Bluerock Ridge ahead.  I turned to my left for a few hundred yards to avoid a boggy section, before heading out into the meadows.  Here there was no sign of a trail, but I walked right through the middle of the wide open landscape, through waving grass and wildflowers.  Eventually the trees closed in again, and there was the trail, still heading westwards.

I climbed gently up the lower slopes of Bluerock Ridge, on a now clear trail, passing another rest area for horses.  Climbing up the hill beside a dry creek, I finally reached a welcome orange diamond sign nailed to a tree.  This marked the important junction with Bluerock trail.  This trail runs north to Gorge Creek, and south up the sides of the ridge to a high point.  I turned south.  At first it was a pleasant stroll through the woods, but suddenly the trail started to head upwards, and steeply.  A series of steep, tight hairpin bends finally led to the open meadows high up on the southeastern end of Bluerock Ridge.  I had climbed over 1,600 feet from the valley floor below.

What a spectacular place to stand.  Finally I had risen above the tree line.  Directly above me was the bare mountainside, while below was the remote Bluerock Creek, leading into the folds of Mt. Burns (9,633 ft.).

I could not resist climbing up above the last straggling trees onto the open mountainside for better views.  Here I must have reached the jet stream, as the gale force westerly winds were doing their best to throw me off the mountainside.  There were some interesting rock formations up here.  There is apparently no route for scramblers up to the ridge top, and this wasn’t a good day to find out.  Down in the meadows I found a warm, sheltered spot for lunch.  Up here I could also see the downtown skyscrapers of Calgary, 65 kilometres away as the crow flies.  The meadows were a sea of colorful wildflowers.

Leaving the high point, I immediately plunged back into the trees, following the steep ridgeline down to a lower forested ridge.  It was a pleasant high-level stroll along the ridge, with occasional views across the Bluerock Valley to the mountains opposite.  It was a long ridge, but finally I found myself back at the point where I had stopped on my journey last year, on an open hillside above the valley.  A couple of guys were standing there looking at their map, trying to figure out where they were.  If they were heading up to the meadows, they had a stiff climb ahead of them.

But I wasn’t finished with steep hillsides myself.  The trail dropped down to the creek, then back up the other side in a series of switchbacks.  The bridge was still a ruin, and according to Gillean Daffern there are no plans to repair it.  Luckily the water level had dropped and I was able to hop across the creek keeping my boots dry.

The final leg of my journey was down a muddy horse trail.  I passed a family of four, and these were the only other people I saw all day.  There were several large horse trailers in the car park, and lots of activity, with people setting out on horses and a group of kids returning from a horseback ride.

On my way back down the Sheep Valley, I could not resist checking out Sandy McNabb campsite, which had been closed all last year.  They have rebuilt all the access roads and improved the campsites.  It looks very nice, and there were only a few empty camping spots left. 

I had been out in the hills for over seven hours, and in some remote country.  And I was relieved not to have been forced to turn around halfway along this rugged route to make way for a determined bear!

Statistics
Indian Oils-Bluerock
Fri. 15 July
Total Dist.	2.5 km (bike) + 19.0 km (hike) = 21.5 km
Height Gain	2,500 ft.
Max. Elev.	7,090 ft.
Time	7 hrs. 08 mins.

Other Stats.
Start bike:       7.50 am Start hike:       8.03 am Jn S Gorge:     9.28 am Jn Bluerock: 11.20 am Top:              12.33 pm Creek:             2.10 pm Ret. to car:      2.58 pm	Temp:+13 to +19 deg.C Almost cloudless, very strong W wind on Bluerock Mtn.